Philadelphia

Two competing lawyer join forces to sue a prestigious law firm for AIDS discrimination. As their unlikely friendship develops, their courage overcomes the prejudice and corruption of their powerful adversaries.

Excellent movie. One of the best movies I have seen in a long while. This movie was made in 1993 but I don't know what time frame is shown in the movie. I sincerely hope attitudes have changed over time. Tom Hanks is amazing and Denzel Washington is fantastic. All the actors are great and the scene when the opera is playing and Tom Hanks is speaking the singing parts is so heartfelt I could feel it in my soul. I will definately watch this movie again.

While supremely moving in that way that well-written courtroom dramas tend to be, PHILADELPHIA has suffered from the overkill of buzz that surrounds it. My expectations were much too high, so PHILADELPHIA fell short of the mark for me. It's a simple story of workplace discrimination turned on its head by the time period it stems from, one where homophobia and the AIDS stigma was taking the world by storm. Nowadays PHILADELPHIA seems ridiculously old-fashioned, especially with a more progressive modern society that not only accepts but fights tooth and nail for LGBTQ rights. Our world is by no means perfect but the span of a couple of decades has rendered the notions in PHILADELPHIA positively barbaric. I admire Tom Hanks's performance in PHILADELPHIA, one of honesty and integrity while being diminished by the words of lawyers and senior partners and the virus in his body. Denzel Washington does a good job, too, showing a flawed protagonist with his own prejudice to overcome as he fights a case he doesn't exactly believe in at first. While I was disappointed by this film for having set the bar too high, I still believe PHILADELPHIA is a worthwhile watch, even if it's just once and never again. I recommend it.

Was thinking about this film when Tom Hanks introduced Denzel Washington at the Golden Globes last night and what a great film it was. Denzel accepted the Cecil B. DeMille award for his contributions and brought his family on stage with him to share the honour. Who could ever forget his famous line 'explain this to me like I'm a two year old....'? Added video clip of him delivering this line and showing why he is such a great actor.

This movie was so heart breaking. A lot of those people
were not very educated about
AIDS. People were scared to shake Tom Hanks hand. But
this movie was also about
People hating Gays. this movie
proves that if a person is gay
and/ or has AIDS, that is stupid
and wrong to judge them. I'm
glad this movie was made.

Tom Hanks received the Best Actor Award for his role as Andrew Becket in the movie "Philadelphia". I thought Tom Hanks was true to himself and to gay men and women. He just acted like himself. He is no different acting in the role of a gay man than he has in any other role. The movie respectful of Andrew Beckett getting fired from his law firm when they find out he is gay. Denzel Washington plays Joe Miller his lawyer. He is homophobic when he takes the case on. He makes an amazing transition during the movie. Aids treatment has come along way and the treatment of gays has come a long way since the film was made. Still there are those who stereo type gay people and have misconceptions about their life style. "Philadelphia" captures the courage of a gay man with aids and the courage of a lawyer to defend his rights in a wrongful termination case. A very inspiring movie that will hopefully enlighten viewers on very important subjects. I am proud of Tom Hanks for taking on such a challenging role. More actors should be willing to take chances and bring important subjects to the screen.

Quotes

(a young man in a jersey approaches the prosecutor on a high-profile AIDS discrimination case in a pharmacy)
"How's the trial going?"
"Excuse me?"
"It's a great case. I saw you on TV. I'm a law student at Penn State."
"It's a good school, Penn. What year are you in?"
"Second. I just wanted to tell you this case is tremendously important. I just wanted to let you know you're doing a fantastic job."
"When you graduate, you give me a call."
"Thank you very much, would you like to have a drink with me? I just finished a game and could really use a beer."
"No, I can't. My wife's waiting for me."
"I don't usually pick up people in drug stores everyday."
"You think I'm gay?"
"Aren't you?"
"What's the matter with you? Do I look gay to you?"
"Do I look gay to you?"

"We're standing here in Philadelphia, the city of brotherly love, the birthplace of freedom, where the founding fathers authored the Declaration of Independence, and I don't recall that glorious document saying anything about all straight men are created equal. I believe it says all men are created equal."

"Have you ever felt discriminated against at Wyatt Wheeler?"
"Well, yes."
"In what way?"
"Well, Mr. Wheeler's secretary, Lydia, said that Mr. Wheeler had a problem with my earrings."
"Really?"
"Apparently Mr. Wheeler felt that they were too . . . 'Ethnic' is the word she used. And she told me that he said that he would like it if I wore something a little less garish, a little smaller, and more 'American.'"
"What'd you say?"
"I said my earrings are American. They're African-American."

"Subsequent decisions have held that AIDS is protected as a handicap under law, not only because of the physical limitations it imposes, but because the prejudice surrounding AIDS exacts a social death which precede... which precedes the physical one."